Entertainment

It looks like Marvel Comics' "Man Without Fear," Daredevil could be the next character to brought to the big screen under the tent-pole of Marvel Studios' canon-consolidated cinema. Studio head, Kevin Feige reportedly confirmed that the film rights are now officially back in the Marvel Studios/Disney home stable with the likes of The Avengers and its spinoff films. This comes after years of being held by 20th Century Fox, who would make the 2003 Daredevil film with Ben Affleck and its 2005 spinoff, Elektra with Jennifer Garner.

Around this time last year, it looked like Fox was attempting to salvage their legal hold on the franchise by producing a reboot film, which, after a brief shuffle, was to be helmed by Smokin' Aces and The A-Team director, Joe Carnahan. Supposedly set to be a re-imagining of the blind lawyer vigilante's story set in the 1970's, carrying a gritty, Serpico-like edge, the film would have renewed Fox's claim to the film rights. However, the time in which they were allocated to get that project up and running passed last summer. They were surely weighing a number of factors; notably how their 2003 effort (and its spinoff) was a critical and financial failure, despite having big name stars in Ben Affleck, Collin Farrell, and Jennifer Garner. There was clearly some hesitance to commit to the project. Considering that we're in the middle of an unprecedented surge in the superhero film genre, that inertia speaks volumes on the project in question.

It takes the right kind of movie to reinvigorate a character's status. Something worth pondering is that before Marvel Studios' watershed 2008 film, the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man was pretty much on the same level of "B-List" popularity as Daredevil. (At least, to the mainstream, anyway.) -- Look what the right movie did for him. The latest report on the rights shift today was merely a formality for what was inevitable after Fox let the clock run out, pretty much conceding that "the right movie" (whether or not it was Carnahan's) was not within their risk/reward zone.

Now, Daredevil joins a list of recently jailbroken Marvel heroes such as The Punisher and Blade, who return home to the celluloid stewardship of Marvel Studios and its Disney backers. While no details have been discussed on what kind of projects could be on tap for those names, you can bet that the studio's current practice of meticulous long-term franchise planning means that SOMETHING is brewing. (Maybe for Phase Three or Four.)

While yesterday, we saw a volcano-stuck-Spock ready to martyr himself (again) for "the needs of the many," today's clip comes courtesy of MSN, showing Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and a few unidentified passengers (which is never a good thing to be in Star Trek) strolling along in a defenseless shuttlecraft being pursued by an unknown assailant ship whose enmity towards our heroes is so deep that they're willing to risk a Death Star trench-run-like chase that could easily go awry. (Looks like Kirk may have gotten too friendly with yet another married sexy alien space thing.)

The clip actually culminates in a tight squeeze of a scene that you probably already caught in the film's numerous trailers and TV spots. Nevertheless, these clips are like the free sample ladies at Sam's Club/Costco. If you're sly and shameless enough to keep going back, you can eek a solid meal out of them. We're certainly bound to see more "free samples" like these as we move towards the film's impending release next month. (Although you may eventually want to buy a box, you cheap bastards.)

Star Trek Into Darkness ignores the obviously fake mustache you put on and lets you grab a second wedge of chicken cordon bleu movie clips when it hits theaters on May 17.

Iron Man 3 storms theaters with Tony Stark's 42 armors in a little over a week. However, that's not stopping this unrelenting hype train on the way to its lucrative destination. For those who just can't bear the wait, this latest featurette exclusive to IGN actually delves quite deep into an important plot point of the film: Extremis and the subdermal shimmering sinister super-soldiers which it spawned.

When it was revealed that Iron Man 3 would be giving us a live-action homage to Warren Ellis' 2005/2006 Iron Man "Extremis" comic book storyline, it was assumed that it would follow the basic concepts of its plot, depicting Extremis as a nanovirus which could endow great powers both biologically and technologically, while also yielding horrific results on its downside. However, as we learned more about the film, it was clear that terms like "nanovirus" were something the creative forces found as virulent as Extremis itself. Thankfully, this featurette pretty much lays out how the film's version of Extremis will manifest and what it does to the gangster-like guinea pigs who volunteered for the experimentation. Most notable of the lab rats, is James Badge Dale, who plays Eric Savin, known as the villainous Coldblood in the comic books. Indeed, if, as another Marvel character's defining motto states, that with great power comes great responsibility, then the great power that Extremis endows gives one great responsibility...to be an unmitigated a**hole.

Iron Man 3 battles The Mandarin's juiced-up mischief-makers when it hits theaters on May 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy, next summer's first foray into the Marvel Movieverse's cosmic theater has added another cast member in the lovely London-born actress, Ophelia Lovibond.

The 27 year-old starlet can be seen in films, like Jim Carrey's family-friendly film, Mr. Popper's Penguins, one of 2011's multiple "f**k buddies" movies in No Strings Attached, and on the TV series Titanic: Blood and Steel. Lovibond will join a cast consisting of lead, Chris Pratt, former WWE wrestler, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, and Michael Rooker in this comic book-inspired surreal space odyssey come to life.

While details regarding Lovibond's role are vague and unconfirmed, rumors do have her pegged for a character who is connected to one of Marvel Comics' "Elders of the Universe" called The Collector, an ancient immortal notoriously known for...yes, collecting stuff, namely living superheroes. However, it's unlikely that he'll have time for that creepy endeavor in this space epic, which will likely have our titular team battling better enemies in the forces of the Mad Titan, Thanos. The film could possibly see the Elders of the Universe together for some plot-related reason and the dominant speculation is under the impression that Lovibond will play Carina, the daughter of Elder member, The Collector. (The closest comic book character who fits the vague description of the rumor.) The scope of this supporting role is certainly up in the air at this point.

Guardians of the Galaxy rockets into space to fight evil with wrestlers and raccoons when it hits theaters on August 1, 2014.

Thor: The Dark World has unleashed its debut trailer and it packs a thunderous impact of gravity-defying, world-splitting, explosive excellence.

An ancient, ominous force of darkness looms over the universe threatening to destroy not only the always-embattled Earth, but even the mystical realm of Asgard where Chris Hemsworth's Thor calls home. Besides taking a few moments to hammer some heads and groundquake the hell out of some hapless hostiles, Thor's first priority is to give his 'ole gal pal, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) an inter-realm ring, setting up an awkward reunion/sort-of-kidnapping as he whisks her to his home of Asgard. -- Much the chagrin of a visibly upset Sif (Jaimie Alexander) who is slowly beginning to realize that her amorous ambitions for Thor could not be secured even with "the other woman" located in another dimension.

Of course, there are other issues besides Sif's reluctant relocation to "the friend zone," especially when it comes to that aforementioned ominous force of darkness. It seems that the return of this ancient enemy (possibly the fire demon, Surtur,) who had been imprisoned and dormant since the beginnings of the universe is the handiwork of an evil dark elf ruler of the realm of Svartalfheim named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). It looks like this d**k of a dark elf quickly catches on to the fact that Thor's love for Jane Foster can be exploited and we see the Norse God of Thunder brought to his knees as Malekith holds her life in the balance. It seems that he's in such a desperate state over Jane's safety that he's turned to the help of his former worse enemy, fresh from wreaking havoc on Earth in New York and getting his ass handed to him by "a Hulk." While Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is found locked in the proverbial "Hannibal Lecter room" (which I guess Anthony Hopkins' Odin had installed out of self-reverence), it appears that an unlikely alliance has been struck between these half-brothers who hate each other to stop this new threat that could potentially rip apart the frazzled fabric of the very universe itself. -- Oh, and also rescue Thor's bun. Priorities, right?

Thor: The Dark World gets its hero thrown off his game by Natalie Portman worse than Anakin Skywalker when it hits theaters on November 8.

X-Men: Days of Future Past keeps rolling out the reveals. This time, director, Bryan Singer has tweeted the very first photo of Halle Berry as she will look when reprising her role as Ororo Munroe, aka Storm.

The photo gives us a nearly full clear view of the new Storm outfit, showing a less-leathery, more practical paraphernalia, even flashing a little more skin. However, the most notable change is in the shorter hairstyle Berry is sporting, a look vastly different than we're used to seeing from Berry's live-action version of the weather-wielding mutant de facto leader of the X-Men. It's an interesting change, but for some fans, may be a bit disappointing, since the reinvention may have been a missed opportunity to have Storm appear with the signature mohawk she sported during her "punk" phase in the 1980's era of the comics.

Berry joins a cast whose monolithic size borders on the surreal, with names like Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and (to a lesser-known extent,) the just-announced latest addition, Adan Canto. The film, based on the groundbreaking 1981 comic book storyline, will somehow bring the cast of the original X-Men trilogy together with the cast of the 2011 prequel, X-Men: First Class for a time-bending epic crucible against, amongst other potential threats, the giant humanoid mutant-hunting robots known as The Sentinels. -- With that said, Berry's role is expected to be minimal, due to not only the massive cast to accommodate, but the fact that earlier this month, it was announced that she and fiance, Olivier Martinez are expecting their first child. So, while she is returning, don't expect Storm to delve too deep into the thick of things since trick lightning and trimesters rarely mix well for the long term.

X-Men: Days of Future Past poses Halle Berry like Jim Morrison on the cover of "The Best of The Doors" when it hits theaters on July 18, 2014. Check out the full photo below!

Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters in a little under a month. However, besides the vast array of trailers and TV spots, this new full-scene clip from the film might give anxious Trekkies a good, uninterrupted dose of the film to help manage the wait.

It seems that Zachary Quinto's Spock was the lone straggler in a lava-laced away mission and unfortunately, their usually nifty transporter system is unable to bring him back up to the Enterprise, putting Chris Pine's Captain Kirk in a killer quandary. Not one to waste an opportunity to drop poignant quotes, even when facing a fiery death, young Spock spouts the memorable motto of magnanimity spoken by Leonard Nimoy's Spock in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Of course, it was a maxim designed to encapsulate his own motivation to sacrifice himself for the safety of the crew. (A sacrifice that was fixed in the following film due to the miracle of money.) While the situation here is abundantly different, the idea remains the same. -- As does the assertion made by Karl Urban's Dr. McCoy that the calculating Spock would not hesitate to sacrifice anyone else just as well towards the same cause.

Certainly, this is not the first Wrath of Khan hint that this rebooted sequel has sprinkled our way through various lines and imagery. It certainly adds to the soon-to-be-settled speculation about much of the film's plot, most notably, the (supposed) true identity of the villain, John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Star Trek Into Darkness mitigates life and death drama with Uhura's super-sexy skin-tight suit when it hits theaters on May 17.

X-Men: Days of Future Past has added yet another name to its embarrassment of riches of a cast. Now, the time-bending crossover sequel adds actor, Adan Canto. The reveal would come from Canto directly, who tweeted a photo of himself amongst a group of DOFP cast members at a hockey game, sporting custom Montreal Canadiens jerseys.

Canto, who just finished his run as a cult-colluding killer on Fox's TV drama, The Following, will actually be reunited with his fellow Following star, Shawn Ashmore, who reprises his X-Men Trilogy role as Bobby Drake/Iceman. Of course, with the informal reveal comes the inevitable question of which Marvel mutant Canto will portray. While he did not reveal that tidbit of info outright, he did manage to drop a critical clue. A tweet made earlier this month fielding questions about his future projects (after his character on The Following was killed off) led Canto to tweet:

"I might turn into a ball of fire if someone pisses me off."

This has led many to narrow down his character to various fire-related mutants in the X-Men canon like Sunfire or Pyro (who we saw in the X-Men trilogy portrayed by Aaron Stanford.) However, an educated deduction based on Canto's looks and Latino ethnicity might make one conclude that he could be playing the mutant, Roberto "Bobby" da Costa, aka Sunspot. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Sunspot started out as a hot-headed member of upstart team, The New Mutants who had the ability to absorb mass amounts of solar power, utilizing it towards devastating results. If we were to further speculate based on the group in Canto's photo, it could be the case that his character (whether or not it is Sunspot,) will be a mutant peer amongst the film's latter-day timeline. Besides Shawn Ashmore's Iceman, that would put him with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, Halle Berry's Storm, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, and Ian McKellen's Magneto.

X-Men: Days of Future Past shows that being shanked by Kevin Bacon on TV can lead to greater opportunities when it hits theaters on July 18, 2014. Check out the hockey jersey-injected pic of cast members below!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 continues its twitter-touting revelations with photos giving us a completely new look at Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon aka Electro, as well as our first glimpse of Dane DeHaan as Peter Parker's problematic best bud, Harry Osborn.

The first of the photos would arrive by director, Marc Webb who, nearly a week after set photos of a hoodie-covered budding blue electrified evildoer exploded online, would drop a photo of Foxx that was radically different. Clearly shown as a pre-transformation Max Dillon, Foxx is nerding it up as a seemingly unappreciated and ignored combover-encrusted Oscorp employee who apparently strikes up a brief friendship with Andrew Garfield's titular wall-crawler. Unfortunately, as evidenced from the numerous Spidey photos on his wall, the informal partnership gets a bit stalkerish and the industrial accident that ultimately turns Max into the spark-shooting sinner, Electro might just put Spidey in the position of being his primary target.

The photo of Harry Osborn arrived courtesy of actor, Dane DeHaan himself via tweet. While other than showing Harry's basic look in the film (which happens to be exactly as DeHaan normally looks), the photo doesn't exactly provide any notable revelations. The former Chronicle star, DeHaan plays this key role (last played by James Franco in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy) of the super-wealthy owner's son and heir-apparent of mega-company, Oscorp, who also happens to be the best bud of Peter Parker, our perpetually-poor clandestine costumed crime-fighter. It's especially an awkward relationship since Harry's disease-inflicted dad, Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper) is a shadowy puppet master behind the sinister events that have occurred in the first film and that trend does not look to be stopping anytime soon.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 gets ready to show why Peter Parker can't have nice things when it swings into theaters on May 2, 2014. Check out the full photos below, as well as some additional new Max Dillon/Electro photos that have surfaced.

For a while, the upcoming reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise seemed destined to be heading to theaters in 2014 under the sleekly abbreviated title, Ninja Turtles. Well, according to a report from fan site, TMNT Lair, that destiny has been changed. The film will now forgo any edgy naming attempts and tout the more traditional title of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The report comes after the film's presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas inexplicably touted the (yet-to-be-released) logo displaying the full "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" title. It's a move that could help make progress in placating picky fans whose heads are still spinning from the idea that this reboot from producer, Michael Bay and director, Jonathan Liebesman plans to make the foursome into aliens.

Nevertheless, the film, currently in production and working off a recently-rewritten script by Snow White and the Huntsman scribe, Evan Daugherty, has also seen its share of defenders. Most notable, among them, is actor, Alan Ritchson, who plays Raphael in the film. Still sworn to secrecy on the plot details, Ritchson has expressed frustration on the project's notorious reputation, wishing to set the record straight, and reiterating his own love for the franchise. This reported return to a traditional title will no doubt help in that cause.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uses badass martial arts techniques to reclaim the first two words of its title at theaters on June 6, 2014.

Thor: The Dark World has made a first official act of hype with the release of its debut teaser poster and it's a thunderous throng of coolness.

The image that's being used is certainly not taking the cryptic or metaphorical route as some teaser posters would dare to indulge. Here, we have Chris Hemsworth in his return as Thor wielding the monstrous Mjolnir, overloaded with lightning while working through some tumultuous tides of weather that would send any storm-chaser flying back to their makeshift SUV headquarters.

As Marvel Studios head, Kevin Feige tells USA Today on the unveiling of the lightning-laced image:

"It doesn't get much badder than Chris Hemsworth as Thor. It's rare that you have a poster that is just Chris Hemsworth shooting on the set. But he just looks like Thor. We just put in some lightning, and he's got his hammer and you're there. It's just an incredibly striking image."

In the film, the newly-matured and responsible Thor helps defend his realm of Asgard against an invading army led by a powerful dark elf overlord, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston.) It seems that, based on the (yet-to-be-confirmed) eyewitness descriptions of the once-screened trailer, that Malekith will be more than a match for our coffee-mug-smashing Asgardian son. He may just have to juggle the toughest enemy of his life and the continued safety of his Earth-born-beau, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) by having to resort to the help of his half-brother nemesis, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), whose level of trustworthiness is problematic, at best.

Thor: The Dark World ignores extreme weather to strike a badass pose when it hits theaters on November 8. Check out the full poster below!

Kick-Ass 2, the seemingly unlikely sequel to the 2010 amateur vigilante epic has released a two minute treat of a clip showing us a bit of the titanic tussle that will occur within the film.

While the debut trailer that dropped last month hinted at some kind of gigantic super-scrap between Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) newly-assembled army of amateurs and The Motherf**ker's (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) repulsively pusillanimous posse of pain, we certainly didn't imagine it would be in this scale. Thankfully, this new clip sticks with the story just fine and walks the fine line of giving you a bit of what you want to see without making the business mistake of giving you everything.

Indeed, this scene seemingly revels in the abundance of absurdity it contains, while simultaneously carrying forward the tension built between our protagonist and his obscene antagonist which stems back to events in the first film. That tension is certainly released here at the Evil Lair. From the ballistic brawl between the regiments of rookies to what looks to be an ever-building and epic showdown between Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and the monolithic Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina), you will no doubt leave with the impression that this film will live up to its awesomely unambiguous title.

Kick-Ass 2 channels Enter the Dragon for mass mega-fights when it hits theaters on August 16. Check out the (potentially spoileriffic) clip below!

R.I.P.D., a film that can honestly be given the accolade of being "this summer's best film to feature undead cops that utilizes the Men in Black mold" has released its debut trailer.

However, don't get the impression that this film intends to charge up any Noisy Crickets and ride alien-tech-installed autos upside-down while listening to Elvis on an 8-track player. This film, based on a comic book by Dark Horse Entertainment, gives us a buddy cop dynamic with Deadpool and The Dude, which should "abide" well by fans of several genres.

It seems that police prodigy, Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) gets taken out by some lucky thug on a raid of some kind. However, that's only where his story begins. Upon his death he meets a quirky recruiter (Mary-Louise Parker) who offers him a chance to join a new kind of police force and put on "the last suit you'll ever wear." (Okay, no more MIB references, I promise.) Paired with an old-school gunslinger named Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), Nick must adjust to the nuances of this bizarre beat quickly. It seems that the living world is actually full of hidden monstrous undead criminals who have escaped judgment and its up to a force consisting of the greatest lawmen that ever lived and died called the R.I.P.D. (Rest in Peace Department) to bring them to non-corporeal justice.

Of course, our heroes won't be fighting these undead d**ks without an inconvenient twist. It seems that in the world of the living, our dead deputies appear behind an avatar (the non-giant smurf variety) and they're not quite appropriate. While the younger upstart in Ryan Reynolds' Nick appears to the mortal muggles as an old Chinese man (James Hong, minus his Lo Pan powers), Jeff Bridges' grizzled gunslinger appears to the world as a bodacious blonde bombshell of a woman played by sizzling surfing star, Marisa Miller. It's a dynamic that will certainly make their interactions with the living awkward and creepy. (Mostly creepy.)

R.I.P.D. saves the living world from desperadoes of the damned when it hits theaters on July 19. Check out the trailer below!

The Lone Ranger, the "pirated" western revival by the team of director, Gore Verbinski and producer, Jerry Bruckheimer has released an explosive new trailer.

This latest preview delves a little deeper into the character development of the titular Ranger himself (Armie Hammer), who, as we learn here for the first time, was previously just a city boy straight off the train named John Reid who was deputized by his ranger brother with their late ranger father's badge on a whim. Of course, the first mission didn't go quite so swimmingly since everyone was massacred in an ambush by some scruffy scum led by an unbathed bandit named Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner). However, it turns out that after being presumed dead along with everyone else, that John is discovered by a Native American warrior, Tonto (Johnny Depp), who believes him to be some kind "spirit walker;" a man who's been to the other side that can't be killed in battle. Now, they ride together for justice...and a touch of vengeance.

While we've had theme-focused trailers for this film spotlight the "justice" aspect, showing Tom Wilkinson's greedy robber baron character and another fixating on the "spiritual" aspect of the Ranger's resurrection, this one seems to be more focused on the motivations of the man himself. While bringing justice to a crop of corrupt cops seems to be the righteous motivation, this trailer does reveal that when it comes to the Ranger's quest, seeking revenge for his brother's death does kind of sweeten the deal, as well. As for Johnny Depp's Tonto...well, he's just kind of there. -- Which is all the explanation you need for why Helena Bonhan Carter is in the film. (Sporting a leggy weapon that might be a tribute to Rose McGowan's in Planet Terror.)

Pirates of the Wild West...err, sorry, The Lone Ranger screams "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!" as it rides into theaters on July 3. Check out the new trailer below!

The new Disney-sized Lucasfilm coalition dropped a major announcement concerning the release strategy for 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII, its ensuing sequels, and standalone films. It seems that as of 2015, we will be in for several years of successive Star Wars movies set for the summers.

At CinemaCon in Las Vegas today, they would reveal that Episode VII will be targeted for a summer 2015 release. Yes, that bit of news may not be quite the bombshell, considering the fact that Star Wars films have traditionally launched in the late-spring/early-summer period. However, that tidbit would be accompanied by what may be the real game-changer: The long-discussed standalone films will be released in alternation each year between the Sequel Trilogy films. This means that starting with Episode VII in summer 2015, we will be treated to the first standalone film in summer of 2016, starting a pattern that will apparently repeat for at least the rest of the Trilogy.

It's quite an ambitious (presumed) plan to pump out a proper "Episode" film every other year, breaking the traditional 3-year gap between films practiced by George Lucas and company during the first two Trilogies. However, filling the yearly gaps with the standalone/spinoff (call them what you will) films does risk a bit of overkill which could chip away at the vitality of the franchise. I suppose fans will probably just have to trust in the will of The Force...which, in this case is owned by an anthropomorphic mouse with a high-pitched voice who cranks out theme parks and seemingly wholesome teen idols. Besides, those standalone films are rumored to focus on cool characters like Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett, so that certainly can't be all bad.

This is quite a bit to digest and it may be the case that some clarification will be made on the specifics of the schedule. However, what does seem to be set in stone, is the fact that our future summers will be dominated by the Star Wars universe.